Trench watch... What do I have?

I have this trench watch I have no clue on the history of this watch... Maybe you can shed some light...

When I go to change the time it feels like it slips and hard to turn... Does not wind either so not working... It says sopra on the face... When I open the hinge in the back it says G.Eckhardt and on the case says Gerber swiss... 7 jewels I think...

I was thinking of selling our trading... Don't want to use ebay where else is the best place... Also if I do keep is it worth servicing? Thanks...

Re: Trench watch... What do I have?

Hi,

your movement was made by SFG (Schild Feres Grenchen) - who later became Eterna. IRCC Gerber was a Jeweler. According to Mikrolisk, Sopra was a brand of Achille Hirsch / Compagnie of Montres Invar.

Going by the movement it is WW1 period, nice dial and obviously in need of a service. Its not worth a huge amount, so ebay might be the best place for it. Otherwise there is a for sale section here, but I think you need more posts.

your movement was made by SFG (Schild Feres Grenchen) - who later became Eterna. IRCC Gerber was a Jeweler. According to Mikrolisk, Sopra was a brand of Achille Hirsch / Compagnie of Montres Invar.

Going by the movement it is WW1 period, nice dial and obviously in need of a service. Its not worth a huge amount, so ebay might be the best place for it. Otherwise there is a for sale section here, but I think you need more posts.

What will it cost usually for service...

Last edited by CMSgt Bo; February 14th, 2017 at 17:50.
Reason: don't do that here - see our rules

Re: Trench watch... What do I have?

Re: Trench watch... What do I have?

Hello. Trim 'is on the money'--in more ways than one! The hairspring is tangled--they sometimes / usually can be put in decent shape--and the rust may turn out to be a real problem...the only way to know, is to take the watch apart. Then again, the rust may not be a problem! Additionally, this watch has been worked on by someone who does not know how to match screws with screwdrivers=a bad sign! But, there's hope...

Finally: watches of this Grade can have very long and happy lives, IF they're serviced by folks who care, and do good work...if they suffer the sad Fate of encountering someone who doesn't care, they're always the worse for it...Good Luck with this one! Michael.

Would be better to sell it to someone with the repairing skills, otherwise it will rest itself to rusty death

Well I looked only one screw looks alittle rusty but cleaned right off with a dab of oil and qtip... Was surface rust... but the rest you see is patina actually... the coating is worn off and shows brass like color... Flash from cameras do funny things... makes everything more yellowish brown.... here is a better pic...

I actually decided since I'm handy I'm going to find some watchmaker tools and slowly take it apart and this will be my first lesson to get it to run... Worth a try...